Sean Strickland knows all about the two men fighting in the UFC 319 main event.
In what is arguably the biggest fight of the year, UFC Middleweight Champion Dricus du Plessis will defend his middleweight title for a third time against 14-0 contender Khamzat Chimaev on Aug. 16 in Chicago.
Du Plessis and Chimaev are both undefeated in the UFC and each fighter brings a unique skill set to the Octagon.
South Africa’s Du Plessis has an awkward yet effective fighting style and is very well-rounded from his grappling to his unorthodox striking. He’s stopped Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya inside the distance and decisioned Sean Strickland twice.
Across from him, Chimaev is a beast in the wrestling department. Chimaev once finished back-to-back opponents in 10 days’ time and is coming off wins over former champions Kamaru Usman and Robert Whittaker.
Months out from UFC 319, the predictions have already started to roll in for du Plessis vs. Chimaev.
Sean Strickland picks Dricus du Plessis to beat Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 319
Former UFC Middleweight Champion Strickland is a former training partner of Chimaev’s and fought du Plessis for 10 rounds in their two title fights at UFC 297 and UFC 312 where Strickland lost both times.
Taking a different approach from Darren Till, who also fought DDP and trained with Chimaev, Strickland predicts du Plessis will become the first man to defeat Chimaev at UFC 319.
“They can grapple,” Strickland said of Chimaev in an interview with Helen Yee.
“Someone like me, I’ve been training these f—— for years, I usually could counter-wrestle and grapple them.
“So, I just don’t know if f—— Dricus can be able to counter-wrestle him. But if he can, I think he wins, hands down.
“I sparred the f—— Chechen,” Strickland continued. “Hands down, I think Dricus wins. It’s just gonna come down to—are you gonna be able to stop that [takedown] and counter-wrestle him?
“You can. It’s not hard,” Strickland said of stopping Chimaev’s wrestling.
Michael Bisping says five rounds are an issue for Khamzat Chimaev
As great of a finisher as Chimaev is, another former UFC Middleweight Champion Michael Bisping thinks the undefeated wrestler may run into some problems with Dricus du Plessis.
Scheduled for five rounds at UFC 319, Chimaev has never seen the championship rounds before. Chimaev’s only made it to the distance twice in his career against Gilbert Burns and Kamaru Usman.
“He got a little bit tired,” Bisping said of Chimaev’s three-round fights with Burns and Usman.
“Against Kamaru Usman, he was kind of lucky to get that decision.
“I’m not talking s— about Khamzat Chimaev. I think he’s phenomenal, but I think he’s got some problems going five rounds against Dricus du Plessis.
“We’ve never seen him go five rounds,” Bisping continued.
“But, we do know the man is a finisher,” Bisping said of Chimaev.
“He is a phenom. He’s a freak of nature. He’s a great wrestler.
“He may not have the accolades of a Bo Nickal, but holy s—, when it comes to being effective, Khamzat Chimaev is right up there. He’s one of the best finishers that we have in mixed martial arts right now.”